[lit-ideas] The heyday of Oxford philosophy

  • From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:50:39 EST

By "heyday of Oxford philosophy" I am merely  IMPLICATING that what passes 
for philosophy in Oxford today can be described as  it once was, as "Oxford 
philosophy", and it may just as well...

Note too that Grice qualifies this as "the  heyday of [Oxford] 
ordinary-language philosophy"
 
R. Paul:
 
"Out of this whole lot of 'Oxford philosophers,'  I knew Paul Grice best."
 
-- I'm never sure if it's heyday or hayday, so  bear with me -- or correct as 
you wish.
 
I'm trying from memory to make an alphabetic list  of Oxford philosophers 
more or less of Grice's generation (born 1913, d. 1978).  So we can discuss the 
shape of the noses, etc. of those who we may have known or  otherwise:
 
 
AUSTIN, John Langshaw (1911-)
    born Lancaster -- Lit. Hum.  BA, MA Oxon
HAMPSHIRE, Stuart Newton (b. 1919-)Married  to 
    Nancy Cartwright. born  Lincolnshire. All 
    Souls Graduate  College.
HARE, Richard Mervyn (b. 1919)
    born Devonshire. White's  professor Moral.
GARDINER, Patrick
    cited by Grice as member  of the playgroup.
NOWELL-SMITH, Peter Horace 
    born London? Trinity --  next to Grice's St. John's
PEARS, David Francis
    born London. -- collaborator  with Grice. 
RYLE, Gilbert (born Brighton, Sx,  1900)
    Magdalen Coll, and  Waynflete
STRAWSON, Peter Frederick (1919-)
    born Dulwich, London.  University Coll, and Waynflete
THOMSON, James F. collaborator with  Grice
    Born London? 1911?  Married to Judith Jarvis
    Christ Church -- but early  emigre to MIT, c. 1963
URMSON, James Opie (Corpus Christi) (b.  1913-)
    born Harrogate,  Yorks
WARNOCK, Geoffrey James (b. 1921)
    born Leeds, Yorkshire.  Hertford and Vice-Chancellor
WOOD, Oscar P. (Hertford College) cited by Grice,  but
    of a previous  generation.
-- and that must be it!
 
Grice made a special point about the Playgroup  (that would meet on Saturday 
mornings -- This was organized by Austin, and none  senior was accepted. Upon 
Austin's death, G. E. L. Owen said the coordination of  the group was left to 
Grice, from 1960 till his departure for  UC/Berkeley.
 
But Grice had other duties, too as University  Lecturer and tutorial fellow. 
The list of his students is immense, so it seems  he hardly had a free day for 
leisure at his favourite pubs in St. Giles's  Street: The Bird and the Baby, 
and the Lamb and Flag.
 
It was in his American 'season' that he  befriended quite a few more: Baker 
(although they had possibly met in Oxford),  Myro, Warner, and most of the 
faculty at UC/Berkeley and surrounding area (Reed  notably).
 
I once had compiled a list of all the places  where he was visiting lecturer. 
The man seems to have travelled quite a bit, but  that's American philosophy 
for you (compared to the more parochiality of the  Oxonian scene)
 
I once also compiled a list of philosophers cited  by Grice, and they 
included that one recently cited by McEvoy, J. L. Mackie  (born New Zealand). 
Grice 
discussed Mackie and Foot in "Conception of Value". 
 
Back to Ryle, and G. E. L. Owen (his obit. of  Ryle in Proc. Arist. Soc.), 
Owen writes that there were these two cliqued  groups: The Ryle Group (Wood, 
Ryle, Owen, Woozley) and the Austin group (Grice,  etc.). Owen goes on to say 
that there was more of a 'sanctity' if that's the  word around the Austin group.
 
I once detected something of what we could call  the early playgroup -- that 
would meet at All Souls before the war -- Austin,  Berlin, Hampshire, Ayer. 
But I now have evidence that, against what I believed,  Grice never attended 
the 
Thursday night meetings of this 'playgroup'. He was  apparently considered to 
have been 'born on the wrong side of the tracks' to  attend. Stuff and 
nonsense, but true.
 
Having been to Oxford, I feel the fascination,  but also the disorganization 
of it all, and I cannot really imagine how things  were in the hayday of 
Oxford linguistic philosophy.
 
I imagine they were very closed, and as R. Paul,  quite a barrier between 
those who were the 'heroes' and had fought in the  'Phoney War' and were 
full-time tutorial fellows, and the "Colonials", or  Scholarship, or other 
visitors.
 
Then they had the academic duties, as when Grice  invited Bergmann, but he 
said he could not think of wasting an afternoon with  some English 
futilitarians. 
 
Quine was also a guest of Grice at St. John's,  but the ungrateful 
philosopher from Akron Ohio, criticises the negligence that  he perceived in 
Grice. 
 
In general, they must have had some merry good  old time. Apparently the 
seminar lectures that Grice gave in collaboration were  especially fun (with 
Strawson, on Categoriae and De Intepretatione, also with  Austin, Warnock, on 
phil. 
perception, and a few others). In these
University Lecture open classes they apparently  _ignored_
the audience completely. Quine witnessed a few of  these
meetings (It was when Grice/Strawson had come up  with their "Defense of a 
dogma" in attack of Quine) and thought  them
so parochial and 'gentlemanly' in an  old-fashioned way ("Now, Mr. Strawson 
recalls my comment on our previous  meeting, and he describes my ... as...") 
that he found worth  sharing.
 
We must remind that Quine's background was mainly  mathematical. His degree 
is in Mathematics and only later started to join the  Philosophical club at 
Harvard.
 
Grice was apparently popular in the East Coast --  where he delivered at 
least one lecture at Wellesey, and he would find affinity  with philosophers at 
Princeton (Harman) and most places where philosophy was  being _mentioned_.
 
His love was this love of wisdom -- and at least  he helped one Argentina put 
a human face (other than Socrates's ungainly one) to  what this Argentine 
also loves.

Cheers,
 
J. L. Speranza
     President of "The Grice  Club" (River-Plate chapter)
        etc. 
          Buenos Aires,  Argentina
              snail-mail to
                 La Pampa, Calle 58, No. 611
                        La Plata B1900BPY
                            Buenos Aires, Argentina
 
heyday, Also 6 hayday, 8 hay  day.
[Of uncertain origin; perh. connected with prec.  The second element does not 
seem to have been the word day
The stage or period when excited feeling is at  its height; the height, 
zenith, or acme of anything which excites the feelings;  the flush or full 
bloom, 
or stage of fullest vigour, of youth, enjoyment,  prosperity, or the like. 
Often associated with day, and taken as the  most flourishing or exalted time.  
1751  SMOLLETT Per. Pic. (1779) II. lxviii. 221 Our  imperious youth..was now 
in the heyday of his  blood.

 



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

Other related posts:

  • » [lit-ideas] The heyday of Oxford philosophy